Here Comes A Thought
by Jasper Olivier Rodriguez
Summary: The Annular Kingdom — also called the Lunar Kingdom — was on the brink of war; which meant the princess, Nadine Duchannes, was forced to go on the run. Alone with just her Pokémon, Nadine had to figure out a way to stop any fighting from happening. And maybe the help of an enthusiastic Trainer and his friends could help. Set in Sinnoh, not following any particular series. Ash/OC
1. Prologue

_Take a moment, remind yourself_  
 _To take a moment and find yourself_  
 _Take a moment and ask yourself_  
 _If this is how we fall apart_  
 _But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not_  
 _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_  
 _I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear_  
 _I'm here, I'm here, I'm here_

-Here Comes A Thought; **written by Rebecca Sugar for STEVEN UNIVERSE**

* * *

 _It was over a hundred years ago when the fighting between the Annular Kingdom and the newly-formed Sinnoh region had ended. It was sudden, the fighting's end. No one had really expected it to happen. In the final battlefield, where the two opposing sides were about to clash, the humans and Pokémon that were about to collide came to a stop_ _— a young woman and a strange Pokémon stood in the center. For the Annular Kingdom, they recognized the young woman as their princess, Selina Duchannes, the eldest daughter of King Xander and Queen Rosario._

 _For the Annular Kingdom, when the war started coming to the kingdom's capital, the royal family had to be moved to a safe location. While there, Xander and Rosario would still be able to take charge of the kingdom and command their forces. In so many of Annular's cities and towns, the citizens had to evacuate. So much land had been destroyed because of the fighting; any Pokémon who lived in the destroyed land refused to return, no plant-life would grow. The once beautiful landscape of the Annular Kingdom was being destroyed from Sinnoh's Pokémon forces. Poison-types and Fire-types, eliminating the towns and cities, burning down and killing off plant-life that was once a resource for people and Pokémon living in the kingdom._

 _Unfortunately, the landscape was not the only thing that had been destroyed from the fighting. Countless people and Pokémon had been killed because of the fighting, citizens and soldiers alike. Not just on Annular's side, either. Sinnoh had seen its fair share of losses._

 _The fighting between the regions, it lasted for fifty years, long before Selina's birth. She had to grow up in harsh conditions, where she had to worry if the enemy would find her and her family and take them out. It horrified her, having to think like that. Her parents tried protecting her and her younger sister, Jaime, to the best of their abilities, but it wasn't enough. Having generals and soldiers, frightened people and Pokémon, coming in and out of the safe home the royal family lived in exposed the young kids to so many things. Some of the soldiers used the safe home to heal the wounds of their soldiers and warrior Pokémon; and the things Selina and Jaime saw...no amount of reassurance could ease the images out of their heads._

 _By the time Selina reached young adulthood, she had reached her limit in regards to the fighting. She couldn't take it anymore. Without notifying her parents or Jaime, Selina left the safe home. With nothing but the clothes on her back, and a staff she'd brought to help with the journey, Selina Duchannes made her way to where she heard legend of a pink Pokémon, one who had been noted as a Crescent Moon Pokémon, resided. This Pokémon was said to be powerful, it was supposed to help with bringing peace among humans and Pokémon alike. The Crescent Moon Pokémon lived in a cave called the Eye of the Moon Cave_ _— rumored that, in the center of the cave, there was an opening that took the shape of an eye, where the moon, at its highest point during the night, shone through and illuminated the inside of the cave._

 _Selina traveled to the cave, taking a total of three days from where her family sought refuge. Kind refugees had provided her food and water, giving her little tokens of appreciation. Selina would add those tokens to her staff, seeing them as something to give her luck on her journey._

 _Once she reached the Eye of the Moon Cave, she felt a sense of unease settle over her. What if the Pokémon wasn't inside? She would've traveled all that way for nothing. What if the Pokémon refused to help? How could she deal with that? But the real question was: did the Pokémon_ really _live in there? The Crescent Moon Pokémon's supposed living in the cave was rumored, so it would be awful if it didn't really live there._

 _When she ventured into the cave, Selina heard scurrying across the ground. She heard dripping of water from the ceiling. The air was chilly and damp. The cave itself wasn't exactly dark; there was enough light on the inside for Selina to see, but she was still being careful nonetheless. She also had to be careful of wild Pokémon. Since Selina didn't have actual Pokémon of her own, she wouldn't be able to defend herself if one decided to challenge her. She managed to make it as far as she did without worrying about wild Pokémon...but that didn't mean one wouldn't want a battle._

 _The further into the cave Selina went, the chillier the air became. Goosebumps rose on Selina's skin, a constant shiver running up her spine. The cave became a bit darker, but she could still see in front of her._

 _Swallowing thickly, Selina held her staff tighter, hoping that she'd be able to calm herself down with it._

 _A soft sound not even a couple feet in front of Selina caught her attention. Hurrying to where she heard the noise, Selina's eyes widened slightly when she saw the Pokémon she was looking for. It was nestled on a smooth piece of rock, the rock surrounded by a small pool of water. The Pokémon was various degrees of pinks, yellows, and blues, parts of itself curved over, looking like a crescent moon. When it felt Selina's presence, it lifted its head to look at her._

 _Taking a shaky breath, Selina bowed respectfully. "Please," she exclaimed. "I need your help. My kingdom is at war, and so much of our land has been destroyed. I understand that you're able to bring a sense of calm to people and Pokémon, and I hope to have your help in bringing that calm back to my land." Peeking up, she saw the Pokémon was still there, looking at Selina curiously. "So many people and Pokémon here no longer have homes," she went on, bowing her head again, "I can understand if you don't want to help, but..."_

 _Before she could continue, she felt something nudge her. Stiffening for a moment, Selina slowly raised her head. The Pokémon was levitating close to her, nudging the princess' auburn hair. It was looking at her kindly._

 _"You'll help?" Selina whispered, scared that speaking any higher would scare the Pokémon off. A single nod was the only answer she needed._

 _And, with the Crescent Pokémon's help, Princess Selina Duchannes was able to singlehandedly..._

 _ **0-0-0-0**_

"...stop the war between the Annular Kingdom and the Sinnoh region," Queen Katharine Duchannes said, looking down at her daughter, Nadine. The story of Selina Duchannes was Nadine's favorite bedtime story. For as long as Nadine could remember, the story of Selina had been something Nadine was told every night; and she _loved_ hearing it. The Courageous Princess of Annular, that was what Selina's official title afterwards. The people of Annular and the people of Sinnoh had stopped their fighting on the day of an annular eclipse, where the moon was in the center of the sun, and the pink Pokémon who accompanied Selina in stopping the war was none other than the Legendary Cresselia. Where Cresselia went after the reign of Selina is unknown, but it's said that she stays nearby.

"Do you think _I_ could be like Selina when I grow up?" Nadine asked, her brown eyes wide with wonder. Nadine's Pachirisu was nestled next to the young princess' head. Pachirisu had been a rescued Pokémon; a Trainer had failed to capture it, so instead of trying to heal Pachirisu's wounds, they left the small Pokémon severely injured in the underbrush near the palace. When Nadine saw Pachirisu, barely hanging on, she freaked out. Needless to say, her parents were less than pleased that she brought an injured wild Pokémon _inside_ the palace, but were willing to allow Nadine to nurse the Electric Squirrel Pokémon back to health. Once Pachirisu had regained her full health, she chose to stay by Nadine's side. After that, the two were inseparable.

"Of _course_ you can be like Selina," Katharine said, brushing some of Nadine's red hair away from her young daughter's face. "Just remember, you're a descendant of Selina. Some of her courage is inside you."

Nadine's face lit up. Whenever she was told about being a descendant of Selina Duchannes, it brought a sense of joy and excitement. She was related to the most influential princess in Annular history. Who could say that?

"I can already tell you've got some of Selina's courage," Katharine continued. "You were able to nurse this Pachirisu back to health by yourself. That took a lot of courage and dedication. Now you've got a friend for life."

"Pachirisu's my best friend," Nadine confirmed. At hearing her name, Pachirisu lifted her head from the pillow Nadine rested her head, looking between mother and daughter exhaustedly before nuzzling Nadine's hair.

"But remember this," Katharine went on, utter seriousness taking over her tone, "while you _can_ be the most courageous, like Selina, I want you to also be just as courageous as _Nadine_ can be."

"What do you mean?"

"You're only as strong as you allow yourself to be, and if you're only living up to what others want you to live by, or comparing yourself to someone else, then how strong do you think you really are?" Nadine's eyes lowered at that. "You can find it in you to have some of Selina's courageousness, but try to find your own as well."

 ** _0-0-0-0_**

Nadine had her mother's words ringing in her head for years to come. Being the strongest she could _possibly_ be, she would do that to the best of her ability. By the time Nadine's twelfth birthday had come around, she was, in her own opinion, on the road to becoming the next strongest princess Annular had to offer. She'd do anything in her power to ensure that her citizens and the Pokémon in the kingdom were as happy and as safe as could be.

On the other hand, Nadine's parents found her determination to be the greatest endearing. She had expressed on multiple occasions on how she and Pachirisu, and even a Girafarig she befriended in the palace gardens, would defend the people from dangers and hostile forces.

But what Nadine wasn't expecting, at all, was there to be the possible threat of an oncoming war...with the one region Annular hadn't experienced problems with in decades. Sinnoh.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **A sloppy first chapter, I know. I tried thinking of something that was interesting, but I was pulling up nothing. Hopefully some of you guys who're possibly interested in this story would give some constructive criticism where you think it's necessary.**

 **The POKEMON franchise isn't mine.**

 **I don't know if I mentioned it in this chapter, but I got the idea of the kingdom's name — Annular Kingdom** **— from an annular eclipse, where the moon's in front of the sun. I'll be sure to go into more background on all of that in future chapters, OK?**

 **Like I said, leave constructive criticism where you think it's necessary.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Jasper**


	2. Chapter 1: Torches

_Come on, carry your flame_  
 _Carry it higher_  
 _Leave it in the darkness_  
 _Carry your torches_  
 _Come on, carry your flame_  
 _Set the night on fire_  
 _Leave it in the darkness_  
 _Carry your torches_

-Torches; **by X Ambassadors**

* * *

Nadine chewed on her bottom lip, feeling a bit uncertain. She had spent a better part of her day outside the castle, wandering around the large, beautiful property she grew up in. Before all the tensions and thoughts of war between her kingdom and Sinnoh, Nadine looked at her home and her land as something beautiful — Annular was known for its beautiful plant-life; for being a more nature friendly region. The kingdom was surrounded by gorgeous forests and woodlands; beautiful fields and valleys. Nadine prided herself in that. And because of Annular's environmental friendliness, that meant the Pokémon in the area still had their homes, that humans and Pokémon alike got along fairly well. On occasion, there'd be certain Pokémon who'd cause some problems — maybe an Aipom was caught stealing some food; or maybe a Munchlax or two were seen eating all the food in a market; or a Snorlax was sleeping in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. It wouldn't be anything too big, but it was still a bit of a problem nonetheless.

Other than that, there'd be no _serious_ threats between the people and the Pokémon.

Before all the tension came back, things were simple and peaceful and better. But _inside_ the palace gates, Nadine felt as if she was in her own little world. Especially in the palace gardens. The palace gardens took up a better part of the entire South-end of the palace property. It was filled with plants and ponds, benches and swings for Nadine and the Pokémon to play with. Bird baths for any Flying-types who wanted to freshen up before continuing their journeys. There were berry trees and bushes growing to keep any wild Pokémon fed. The ponds served not only to keep the gardens beautiful, but to keep the Pokémon hydrated, too. Nadine always _loved_ going to the gardens when she was little, she loved playing with all the Pokémon. It was in the gardens Nadine also befriended a Girafarig. The Girafarig had wandered in through the very back gates with a small herd. One of them chose to stay while the others left.* After Nadine had restored Pachirisu to its full health, she had befriended Girafarig, and the two remained friends ever since. Girafarig eventually managed to befriend Pachirisu, as well.

During that time, everything seemed magical to Nadine. She was working on a plan to become the strongest princess ever, just like Selina had been. Since she had two Pokémon companions, she felt as if she had already jumped past the first part of her journey. The next part would be to find the Crescent Moon Pokémon Selina had, that way she'd be able to resolve all the problems her kingdom had. But as the years went by and tensions started to actually show themselves, Nadine found herself in a slump. She wanted to make the citizens feel safer and not as distressed, but she wasn't sure how to do it. Not only that, but her parents refused to tell her what was _really_ going on. Who had caused the tensions to return? Why were they doing it? Were they hoping to gain something? To Nadine, it didn't make much sense.

Looking over at where Pachirisu and the other wild Pokémon were, she felt a sense of ease was over her. She always felt better, knowing the Pokémon who lived or dropped by the palace were safe and happy. She couldn't imagine seeing any of them get hurt. Her gaze went over to where Pachirisu was, playing with Girafarig and a Budew. The three of them were running around, playing some kind of catch-me game. Even though Pachirisu was aware of what was happening, she chose to remain cheerful, trying not to dwell on the negative.

Maybe it was time for Nadine to take a break from the stresses of overthinking everything that was happening and just relax for a little bit.

 ** _0-0-0-0_**

"We've received another request, Your Majesty." A young guard came into the throne-room, holding an envelope in his hands. It brought a heaviness to the already heavy atmosphere. The King, Zachariah, and his wife, Katharine, were discussing ways to negotiate with the Sinnoh region to stop any kind of drastic action, but it was proving to more difficult than they imagined. The people they were negotiating with were demanding things that just could not be done. The couple had brought in their closest allies in hopes of coming up with more solutions, but they were hitting a wall.

With a sigh, Zachariah motioned the guard over. When he took the envelope, he tore it open and read what was inside. His pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"What did it say?" Katharine asked.

"Their demands...," Zachariah sighed. "They want the Lunar Staff, _plus_ the Spatial-Time relics."

Katharine buried her face in her hands, her shoulders slumping. The Lunar Staff was an artifact that was passed down to every Duchannes woman. It had been Selina's staff, something that had been given to her after she ended the war with Sinnoh. The Spatial-Time relics were old artifacts saying to have been able to summon and control Dialga and Palkia, though its ability to do that was said to be a myth. Either way, though, they were not willing to hand those over. It was too precious to Annular.

"The Spatial-Time relics did originate in the Sinnoh region," one of Katharine's closest friends sighed. "We have no authority over it."

"But the Lunar Staff?" Katharine exclaimed. "That's been in my family for _generations_."

"No," Zachariah said. "The Spatial-Time relics were given to us _by_ Sinnoh after the war, so no one in that region could use its powers to summon Dialga or Palkia."

"Those are just stories," Katharine said. "Scary stories."

"Stories that can be taken out of context by the wrong people," Zachariah countered. " _We_ may see it as nothing, to others, it's something of great power. To be able to control _two_ Legendary Pokémon?" Shaking his head, he sighed. "We _have_ to figure something out," he grumbled.

"What about Nadine?" Katharine asked. "We need to think of her, too."

"We will. If we can't resolve this, then we'll send her away. I can't have her here if things get too out of hand."

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Not a super long chapter, and I have to say it's not SUPER great, either. But whatever thoughts you have are welcome! I'm always open to constructive criticism.**

 **Do I own anything in this franchise? No, no I do not.**

 **I'm sure it's mentioned in the story summary, but I am writing this story around the DIAMOND AND PEARL version of the whole Pokémon franchise. So there'll be Brock, Dawn, and all of that. And I know that in each season of the shows, Ash is ALWAYS 10, but I feel like in this story, he'll be a bit older than that. I can't say I know for sure what Ash's real age would be in DIAMOND AND PEARL, but I am going to guess that he's probably about 12-13 years old. If I'm wrong and he's older/younger than that, let me know. There're some people out there who're probably really good at keeping up with his age if the shows were to actually age him. I don't know. Tell me what you guys think.**

 **Let me know if there's anything I should improve on.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Jasper**


	3. Chapter 2: Anna Sun

_What do you know? this house is falling apart_  
 _What can I say? this house is falling apart_  
 _We got no money, but we got heart_  
 _We're gonna rattle this ghost town_  
 _This house is falling apart_

-Anna Sun; **by Walk the Moon**

* * *

Once it started getting later in the day, Nadine started becoming more exhausted. She had spent a good part of her afternoon and early evening playing with some of the Pokémon to ease the negativity that was swirling inside her. Pachirisu and Girafarig had made it very enjoyable, going out of their way to include the princess in their games. Initially, any wild Pokémon who had been playing with Pachirisu and Girafarig scurried off at the sight of Nadine coming toward them. Most of the ones who had scurried off were young Pokémon, not yet accustomed to humans yet. Thankfully, the younger Pokémon were able to be convinced there was nothing wrong with Nadine, that she wasn't going to hurt them; after that, things resumed like normal.

Nadine happily participated in whatever games she could. Sometimes it would be hide-and-seek, other times it would be a version of tag. It was obvious everyone was enjoying themselves. During that time, Nadine actually forgot what was causing her such distress earlier. Just being able to relax and enjoy herself, without overthinking everything and worrying herself to death, was something she truly needed. Being able to finally laugh and smile after what felt like forever let her forget the problems going on with Sinnoh.

 _'It's almost like the old times,'_ she thought. _'Before all of this was getting out of hand.'_

A heaviness weighed down on Nadine for a moment, mentally chastising herself for thinking like that. The reason she was allowing herself to play with the Pokémon was so she could keep her mind off of everything.

The first to notice the slight change in her behavior had been Girafarig. The Long Neck Pokémon had strolled over, looking at Nadine worriedly. Gently nudging Nadine's arm, Girafarig looked up at her with a look on his eyes that made Nadine's heart clench.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gently placing a hand on the side of the Long Neck Pokémon's face.

Girafarig gently nudged Nadine's arm again. _'I should be asking you that question,'_ his look seemed to express.

"Don't worry about me, OK?" she murmured, giving her friend a small smile. "I'm fine."

At that, Pachirisu came scurrying over, climbing up Girafarig and resting herself on top of her friend's head. The look on Pachirisu's face mirrored Girafarig's.

"Really, you don't need to worry about me!" she exclaimed. "I don't need you all getting worked up."

Pachirisu and Girafarig shared a brief look before looking back at Nadine. She had been fine earlier, and seeing her attitude shift so suddenly was...unnerving.

 ** _0-0-0-0_**

"I can tell you right now, the King and Queen aren't going to hand anything over." It was a true statement, even if it was unwanted. Zachariah and Katharine were in no way going to hand over the Staff or the relics. For Annular history, those items were sacred, something that was important to their culture — even though the Spatial-Time relics were originally from Sinnoh. It was frustrating, knowing that it was highly likely they weren't going to get what they wanted, but they wanted to ensure that the royal family had nothing to interfere with their plans. If they had the Lunar Staff or the relics, they would be able to stop anything before it began.

"What do you suggest we do?"

There was a long pause. "Why don't we contact Josiah? He's a close friend of the Queen."

"We probably should." There came a long, frustrated sigh. "If we don't get the Staff or the relics immediately, there's no telling what the boss will do."

"I'll get someone to get in touch with Josiah. You tell the boss what's going on."

 ** _0-0-0-0_**

"We can't allow them to be taken from us," Zachariah snapped. "These artifacts belong to _us_. They were given to us for a reason."

"I have to agree with my husband," Katharine exclaimed. "The Lunar Staff is a Duchannes family heirloom. I will _not_ hand it over to a bunch of power-hungry mongrels."

"Not only that, but the Spatial-Time relics should not be given to people as unstable as them," Zachariah added, letting out a frustrated huff.

"We understand your concerns, Your Majesties," one of Zachariah's closest friends, Isaac, sighed, "but shouldn't we look at all this from a different angle? If we hand them over the artifacts, it will save the Annular Kingdom from an unnecessary war."

"We'll just be giving the enemies an advantage over us," Katharine snapped. "They know how important the Lunar Staff is to us and they know just how treasured the relics are."

"I feel like, maybe, we should call it a day." Another of Zachariah's closest friends, Jocelyn, had tried breaking the tensions earlier, but she was unable to get a word in between the King and Queen trying to argue with the other trustees attending. "We will have plenty of time to discuss this in the morning. In the meantime, why don't we think over everything that's happened?"

"How much time did they give us for their demands?" Isaac asked.

"Until the end of the week," Zachariah murmured. "I feel Jocelyn is right, though. We still have a couple days to figure all this out."

"I agree with the Jocelyn, as well," Josiah, one of Katharine's childhood friends, said. "If we spend too much time worrying about this today, then we will just be wearing ourselves down faster."

With murmurs of agreement, the group said their farewells and silently started exiting the room. Josiah watched as Katharine and Zachariah started whispering to each other, anxious looks on their faces. It didn't take Josiah much to know they were probably talking about the princess. Nadine was their life, and Josiah understood quite well just how protective Nadine's parents were. Being a childhood friend of Katharine's, Josiah knew how passionate she was about the people she cared for, and the day Nadine had been born, Katharine had started expressing an even more intensive streak of protectiveness. It made him wonder if, should the deal not go as planned, if taking the princess could work as a sort of collateral.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **This chapter may be crappy, but I hope some of you found it at least tolerable. If there's anything that you guys think needs changing, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? I already rewrote the entire first chapter because I hated it so much. Chances are I'll do a little bit of altering to the second chapter, just to make it flow a little better with the rewritten first. So if any of you are at all curious on how the first chapter looks, go ahead and give it a reread and let me know what you think. It was because of a kind reviewer that I chose to do a little altering.**

 **Do I own anything in the POKEMON franchise? Nope.**

 **If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? Leave me a PM or a review and I'll add it in as soon as possible.**

 **Also, for anyone who's wondering what the big deal was about there being a war and everything between Sinnoh and Annular, I'll be sure to put it in in future chapters. I'm not forgetting about it, I'm just looking for the right time to put it in. Suspense, I guess. So don't got thinking I threw in a random story about war and then never reveal what the true intentions were; I'll get to it eventually, don't worry. Did any of that make sense?**

 **Last thing** **— WALKING DEAD fans, the season 8 trailer has been released. It was, I think, aired at the SAN DIEGO COMIC CON, so if anyone here likes TWD, go give it a look! From what I can tell, it's catching up with how the comics had the Negan war ending. I won't give tell anything other than that.**

 **Let me know if there's anything I should improve on.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Jasper**


End file.
